World

Iraqis Review the Video Debut of the World's Most Wanted Man

This image made from video posted on a militant website Saturday, July 5, 2014, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq.

Image: AP Photo/Militant Video/Associated Press

By Riyadh Mohammed2014-07-07 21:22:33 UTC

The brutal leader of the militant group that has rampaged through Iraq in recent weeks, slaying civilians and security forces alike, stood at the head of the mosque in Mosul, addressing the faithful.

This was the televised debut of the person believed to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world's most wanted man, who was until now a shadowy, if menacing, figure.

Shrouded in a black robe, wearing a black turban and a bulky, expensive-looking watch, al-Baghdadi bid people to obey him as the leader of the Islamic State and called for jihad, or holy war, in Iraq and Syria.

The slickly produced, two-camera video was posted on YouTube over the weekend and promoted on social media by the radical Islamist group, the latest in a sophisticated social media strategy paradoxically at odds with the group's ultimate aims: to return the region to the Middle Ages.

Before long, Iraqis were debating al-Baghdadi's performance.

“He is well spoken," said Tahsin al-Azawi, a 53-year-old Sunni businessman in Baghdad, after watching the entire 20-minute video. "He is an able public speaker. He wanted to challenge those who questioned him as a real leader."

Arwa Yusif, a 40-year-old Shiite housewife, also in Baghdad, was less taken with al-Baghdadi's performance. "His speech added nothing new. It fits his dirty and sick mind. I don’t know what he wants."

An image grab taken from a video released on July 5, 2014, by Al-Furqan Media shows alleged Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi preaching during Friday prayer at a mosque in Mosul.

Image: Al-Furqan Media/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Several commentators noted how the choice of backdrop for his sermon — the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul, a city overrun by the Islamist militants last month — added historical significance. (The 12th century mosque, famous for its leaning minaret, is believed to have been constructed by Nur ad-Din, a famous warrior who fought the Christian crusades in what is now Syria.)

And al-Baghdadi's style of dress evoked another historical figure: Al-Mansour, the 8th century founder of Baghdad.

If he is "suggesting that we should go back to the Medieval times," Yusif wondered, "why does he wear a watch or use microphones? It is just madness.”

Ahmed al-Abadi, a 49-year-old Shiite and the owner of a Baghdad bookshop, said it was clear to him that al-Baghdadi was trying to establish his leadership credentials through his choice of clothes and how he carried himself. Still, al-Abadi wasn't impressed.

"The speech focused in the beginning on fasting, then shifted to Jihad. His use of language was clean. He didn’t offend anybody. There was no profanity. But he never said anything about the way he is going to rule his new state," al-Abadi said. "How will he deal with Christians, Shiites and Yazidis?”

Instead, several times during the sermon, which he delivered with fluency, al-Baghdadi repeated his group's slogan: "A book that guides and a sword that supports." As he lead the prayer, four AK47s were shown to his right.

After he had finished his sermon, his aides and bodyguards surrounded him, one of them wearing a Che Guevara-style beret. The identities of a line of aides behind him were obscured by pixellation, though the video presented an image of adoration by the crowd.

"It's tempting to dismiss the self-appointed Caliph...as a monumental egomaniac," wrote Bruce Riedel, director of the Brookings Intelligence Project. "But his command of the symbols and iconography of medieval Islamic history is striking."

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